The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

An Israeli Peacenik Meets the Reality of Palestinian Arab Intransigence

by Elder of ZiyonLital Shemesh is a young, liberal Israeli journalist, considered a
rising star in the Israeli media who openly expresses her political
aspirations.
She wrote a must-read article from Walla, translated by Baruch Gordon on his blog:

Peace? From the Palestinian Standpoint, There is a Past, No Future
by Lital Shemesh
I participated in the Dialogue for Peace Project for young Israelis and
Palestinians who are politically involved in various frameworks. The
project’s objective was to identify tomorrow’s leaders and bring them
closer today, with the aim of bringing peace at some future time.
The project involved meetings every few weeks and a concluding seminar in Turkey.
On the third day of the seminar after we had become acquainted, had
removed barriers, and split helpings of rachat Lukum [a halva-like
almond Arab delicacy] as though there was never a partition wall between
us, we began to touch upon many subjects which were painful for both
sides. The Palestinians spoke of roadblocks and the IDF soldiers in the
territories, while the Israeli side spoke of constant fear, murderous
terrorist attacks, and rockets from Gaza.
The Israeli side, which included representatives from right and left,
tried to understand the Palestinians’ vision of the end of the strife–
“Let’s talk business.” The Israelis delved to understand how we can end
the age-old, painful conflict. What red lines are they willing to be
flexible on? What resolution will satisfy their aspirations? Where do
they envision the future borders of the Palestinian State which they so
crave?
We were shocked to discover that not a single one of them spoke of a
Palestinian State, or to be more precise, of a two-state solution.They spoke of one state – their state. They spoke of ruling Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Akko, Haifa,
and the pain of the Nakba [lit. the tragedy – the establishment of the
State of Israel]. There was no future for them. Only the past. “There is no legitimacy for Jews to live next to us” – this was their main message. “First, let them pay for what they perpetrated.”
In the course of a dialogue which escalated to shouts, the Palestinians asked us not to refer to suicide bombers as “terrorists” because they don’t consider them so.
“So how do you call someone who dons a vest and blows himself up in a
Tel Aviv shopping mall with the stated purpose of killing innocent
civilians,” I asked one of the participants.
“I have a 4-year-old at home,” answered Samach from Abu Dis (near Jerusalem). “If God forbid something should happen to him, I will go and burn an entire Israeli city, if I can.” All the other Palestinian participants nodded their heads in agreement to his harsh words.
“Three weeks ago, we gave birth to a son,” answered Amichai, a
religious, Jewish student from Jerusalem. “If God forbid something
should happen to him, I would find no comfort whatsoever in deaths of
more people.”
Israelis from the full gamut of political parties participated in the
seminar: Likud, Labor, Kadima, Meretz, and Hadash (combined Jewish/Arab
socialist party). All of them reached the understanding that the
beautiful scenarios of Israeli-Palestinian peace that they had
formulated for themselves simply don’t correspond with reality. It’s
just that most Israelis don’t have the opportunity to sit and really
converse with Palestinians, to hear what they really think.
Our feed of information comes from Abu Mazen’s declarations to the
international press, which he consistently contradicts when he is
interviewed by Al Jazeera, where he paints a completely different
picture.
I arrived at the seminar with high hopes, and I return home with
difficult feelings and despair. Something about the narrative of the two
sides is different from the core. How can we return to the
negotiating table when the Israeli side speaks of two states and the
Palestinian side speaks of liberating Palestine from the Jordan River to
the Mediterranean Sea? How can peace ever take root in a platform which
grants legitimacy to terrorism?

This is not the first time a group of Israelis who pine for peace have
met with their liberal Arab counterparts - only to find that they have
no counterparts at all.

Elder of ZiyonSource: http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2013/05/must-read-israeli-peacenik-meets.htmlCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.